Chicken and sweet potato are slow cooked in a creamy, delicious coconut milk and coriander sauce. Easy enough for a week-night dinner.

Kai is 8 months old, and he isn’t crawling or walking yet, but it’s going to happen…soon. GULP.

Everywhere I look in my house is a death trap. Why are electrical outlets near the floor?! Why did someone put glass-front cabinets on the floor of our kitchen?! And don’t get me started on the giant, sharp-edged brick hearth in the middle of our living room.

And my kid? He’s going to be trouble. I can see it in his eyes. He’s going to be one of those mischievous test-the-boundries-babies. More like test-the-boundries-of-mom’s-sanity.

Can I wrap him in bubble-wrap? That counts as baby-proofing, right? I’m protecting my house from my baby. Baby-proofing.

This recipe is going to come in handy in the upcoming months when my hands are full chasing a mischievous baby. It is pretty easy. And it is suuuuuper delicious.

Don’t let the photos fool you {cringe}. It is not a very photogenic dish. I was not going to post it after looking at these photos, but it tastes SO freaking fantastic that I couldn’t keep it from you!

The secret to its amazing flavor is a tiny bit of extra effort at the start: the onions are sauteed with a bit of sugar until they are lightly golden, then the spices are tossed in and toasted. I swear that is the ultra important part of this recipe: toasting the spices enhances their flavors so much. The onions and the spices are pureed with coconut milk, tossed in the slow cooker with the chicken and the sweet potato. Push start. And you’re done for the next 3 or so hours.

I wish that this was a recipe you could start before going out to work. I tried cooking it for 6 hours on the lowest {10 hr} setting on my crock pot. The result was a giant pot of mush. I recommend cooking it on medium-low {8hr} for 3 hours. This way, the chicken and the sweet potatoes are cooked to perfection, absorbing all the awesome coconut milk-coriander sauce flavor, but still maintaining their shape.

Once your 3 hours are up, you’re going to think: well this looks awfully soupy. That’s when the magic happens. Stir in the garam masala, lemon juice and ground almonds. The garam masala and the lemon juice brighten the flavors right up, and those ground almonds work their magic, thickening the sauce.

Ben swears that this tastes even better the next day. I wouldn’t know…he stole all the left-overs for his lunch!

If you are looking for an easy, delicious slow cooker chicken meal, give this one a try! It gives you so much flavor for so little effort!

Chicken and sweet potato are slow cooked in a creamy, delicious coconut milk and coriander sauce. Easy enough for a week-night dinner.

Author: Denise

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 tsp ground coriander

3 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp tumeric

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

4 or so tsp water {to make a paste}

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, sliced

1 tsp granulated sugar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can {14oz, 400mL} coconut milk {not light}

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1½ inch cubes {peeled if desired}

Just prior to serving:

2 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp ground almonds

Instructions

Prepare spice mixture: combine ground coriander, cumin, tumeric, chili powder, paprika and salt in a small bowl. Add enough water to form a paste, around 4 tsp. Set aside.

Heat oil in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and sugar, sautee {stirring constantly} until lightly golden, around 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add the spice mixture and cook for 2 minutes, until toasted.

Combine onion-garlic-spice mixture in a blender with coconut milk. Blend until onion pureed, then toss into the slow cooker.

Add chicken and sweet potato; toss to coat.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Just before serving:

Stir in the garam masala, lemon juice and ground almonds.

Serve with rice and naan bread.

Notes

Avoid light coconut milk, it has the risk of curdling in the crock-pot.

This sounds like the perfect recipe to help you keep an eye on your little one! I absolutely love using my slow cooker, especially in the summer so that it doesn’t heat up the house as much. This chicken looks amazing!! I love all the spices in here, sounds like everything blends together perfectly. Pinned!

Made this last night and it was great! I may have cooked it a bit too long (the chicken was falling apart on my fork, which I don’t think it was supposed to) and I used more salt and chili powder than the recipe called for, but the flavors were excellent! This was my first attempt at cooking something Indian so I was pleased to see it turn out so well.

Hey Jason! My chicken was falling apart on the fork as well. I haven’t found a slow cooker recipe for chicken that doesn’t cook it to the point of falling apart…but I don’t really mind that 🙂 Thanks so much for reporting back, and I’m glad you enjoyed the flavors from this recipe!

Hi Jennifer, I’ve never tried using anything other than almonds in this recipe, but I’m sure that another nut would be a great substitute, preferably cashews. If not, you could maybe try some breadcrumbs? I’m not sure if that would alter the texture, though. Let me know if you use an alternative to the ground almonds and how it works out!

I made this tonight with a few modifications and my hubby and I loved it! I added a sliced red pepper with about an hour and a half of cooking left to go. I also added a few tbsp of Curry powder and a few tbsp of brown sugar just to up the flavor a bit. I also made this yogurt sauce to go with it http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/traditional-indian-raita-242185 Served with a bit of naan. It was outstanding. Thank you so much for this recipe!!

Made this last night and my boyfriend said it was his favorite dish I’ve ever made. I added a few things to make it more similar to the way our favorite restaurant makes it. Instead of almonds I put raw cashews in at the beginning. I also added golden raisins and green bell pepper. It was delicious, thanks for sharing.

Wow, Jenna, that’s so awesome! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed this recipe, and that would be great to add cashews! I think the original recipe called for cashews and almonds, now I’m definitely thinking I need to try it with cashews!

Hi Denise, thinking of making as sounds delicious but wary as to how spicy it may be? My partner can only manage mild curries (unlike me!).
Think I’ll still try it though as I’ve got loads of sweet potatoes in the cupboard!

I made this for dinner last night and I loved it!!!!! I added a half-can of tomato paste to the sauce, but otherwise didn’t change it. SO GOOD. I LOVE finding simple and delicious crockpot recipes and will definitely be putting this one into regular rotation. 🙂leslie @ definitely not martha recently posted…tarte tatin rolls (aka “cinnamon roll goes to France, forgoes cinnamon”)

Hi Elizabeth! I tried cooking this one on the lowest setting for 6 hours and everything came out very mushy. You’re welcome to try it, but I had a much nicer texture for the sweet potatoes and chicken after cooking on the lowest setting for 3 hours. Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Hi Naomi! Unfortunately I’ve never tried using flour to thicken the sauce, and I don’t know if it will have the same texture. As for the garam masala, you can make it from spices you may already have in your cupboard. Here’s a link, although I haven’t tried this recipe, it has good reviews. Let me know how it turns out if you try the coconut flour…I’ve never used it before and have heard it can be tricky to work with. Good luck!

Hi Lori! I haven’t made a vegan version of this, but I bet it would be great with chickpeas! I’m not 100% on the cooking time but beans are pretty forgiving. I’d recommend using canned beans rather than dried, I think they’d be able to use the same cook time as the chicken. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

Denise, Great recipe, thank you! My kids and husband loved it. This was my first slow cooker Korma & results were as tasty as the time-intensive version. Chicken was buttery delicious. I used coconut oil in lieu of olive, added 4 pods crushed cardamom seeds and dash of ground cloves to the spice mix and unsweetened coconut cream (Trader Joe’s) made it sinful. My new favorite way to eat sweet potatoes!

This has become one of my favorites. We make it on Sunday and take it for lunch. My boss always says how good it smells. Last time my husband made me naan to go with it, but normally we just grab some naan at Aldi. Thank you for this yummy meal.

Hello! I love this recipe, thank you! I’ve made it a couple of times already since finding it! I’ve never made it with chicken thighs though, just breast! But tomorrow I will be using the thighs, can you tell me if you cut the thighs up or left them whole? I’ve actually already made the sauce to intensify over night 😆 Thanks!

Hi There
FYI…You’ve got yams listed in the recipe and sweet potato in the title. Yams are not sweet potato and sweet potato are not yams. Americans call them that. VERY different items. Look up Jamaican White yams for instance….